1. Field of the Application
The present application relates to firefighter garments and, more particularly, to a collar configuration for a protective firefighter jacket which helps to protect from fire, oppressive heat, water infiltration and elements while ergonomically adapting to the user's body specifics and protection equipment.
2. Background Art
Few working environments are as hostile as that of firefighters. In addition to the extreme heat from combustion/smoldering, a firefighter may be subjected to a variety of hazards: steam, pressurized water jet, falling debris—often burning, etc.
Therefore, protective garments used in firefighting must protect the firefighter from such extreme conditions. On the other hand, due to the nature of their job, firefighters must be capable of moving relatively freely to perform physically intensive actions. A firefighter may be required to break through some doors or walls, lift or displace objects, carry people in rescue situations, use an axe, hook or like tools, as well as maneuver a high-pressure water hose.
In the past, the collar of protective jackets for firefighters was restricted to a uniform height (i.e., fixed height) of 4 inches, as per an interpretation of the NFPA 1971 standards. This is illustrated in FIG. 1 of the prior art, in which a protective jacket 10 is shown having a collar 12 of uniform height, which essentially formed a circular edge of a cylinder with a storm flap 14. As such, the collar of protective jackets was not perfectly suited to the body shape/morphology of the users of these jackets. Moreover, as the protective jackets are worn in combination with other bulky equipment such as firefighter helmets, the uniform-height collars have been known to impede the movements of the firefighters.